Insulated concrete panel form and method of making same

Abstract

An insulated concrete form panel system and method of making same. The system and method include first and second opposed panels forming a cavity therebetween and an internal connector frame serving as a mold for receiving expandable polymer material to form the first and second panels, such that the irreleasably pre-assembled connector frame extends between, and is integral to, first and second panels. The present system allows first and second panel pairs to be mechanically connected to panel pairs positioned adjacent thereto (e.g. above, below, or side-by-side) to increase integrity of the structure.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An insulated concrete form panel, comprising:
 first and second panels having exterior and interior surfaces and positioned in opposed spaced relation to form a cavity between the interior surfaces; and   an internal connector frame disposed within the cavity and having a plurality of bridge members irreleasably connected to a plurality of stud members;   wherein each bridge member has a first end, a second end, and a plurality of side ends, wherein each first and second end has connection means for connecting adjacent bridge members positioned end-to-end, and wherein each side end has opposed first coupling means for coupling the bridge members to the stud members;   wherein each stud member has a first end, a second end, and at least one second coupling means, wherein each first and second end has connection means for connecting adjacent stud members positioned end-to-end, and wherein the at least one second coupling means corresponds to the first coupling means for coupling the bridge members to the stud members; and   wherein the stud members are integral to first and second panel members.   
     
     
         2 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the bridge members extend substantially perpendicularly to the stud members. 
     
     
         3 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second panels are formed from an expandable polymer material. 
     
     
         4 . The panel of  claim 3 , wherein the expandable polymer material is expanded polystyrene. 
     
     
         5 . The panel of  claim 3 , wherein the connector frame is pre-assembled to serve as a mold for the polymer material. 
     
     
         6 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second panels have any pre-determined width, height and length. 
     
     
         7 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels are molded to have a width of approximately 3-3¼ inches. 
     
     
         8 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels have a length of approximately 12 to 48 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The panel of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second panels have a height of at least 4 feet. 
     
     
         10 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the bridge member further comprises at least one stabilizing bar. 
     
     
         11 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein a first form panel can mechanically engage an adjacent second form panel positioned beside, above or below the first form panel. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for manufacturing the insulated concrete form of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the apparatus may be automated. 
     
     
         14 . A method of manufacturing an insulated concrete form panel, the panel having first and second panels in opposed spaced relation forming a cavity therebetween for receiving concrete, the method comprising:
 a. providing assembly means for assembling a mold frame having at least one bridge member irreleasably connected to at least one stud member, the bridge and stud members positioned substantially perpendicularly to each other to form the mold frame, and wherein the mold frame is in the form of a skeletal matrix;   b. applying an expandable polymer material for forming the first and second panels to the mold frame; and   c. allowing the polymer material to solidify.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method is manual, automatic or a combination thereof.